At the Gotham Bar and Grill on 12th Street, donors spent $25,800 for a chance to rub elbows with Obama. NYPD barricades prevented passersby from coming within a block of the restaurant, where Obama reportedly told donors that "It's time for us to refocus and make sure that we understand that 'change we can believe in' was never going to be change overnight."

He continued, "Rather it's gonna be a slow, steady progression during which this aircraft carrier that we call United States of America slowly shifts in a direction that promises more opportunity."

The president's final stop was at the Sheraton in Midtown, where about 100 OWS protesters assembled outside to demonstrate (and where journalists who were on the scene have say that the NYPD interfered with their ability to do their jobs).